To calculate control path or system models, control units may be provided with strictly hardware-based logic units which represent model calculation units for calculating model function values. This is useful, in particular, if the calculations of control path or system models are complicated, as is the case, for example, in data-based function models, in particular in the form of Gaussian process models, due to complex mathematical functions and loop calculations.
The model calculation units may be initialized for a calculation, may carry out the calculation, may be set in sleep mode and may be switched off, in particular, with the aid of suitable interfaces with the software-driven main processing unit (microcontroller) situated in the system. The configuration data for such a model calculation unit describing the function model and required for the calculation may be transmitted into a series of configuration registers which are normally associated with a particular contiguous memory area of an internal memory of the control unit. To start a calculation in the model calculation unit it is generally provided that a particular configuration register of the configuration registers is written into in order to start the computation process, whereby it may be provided that the type of data written into the configuration register is not relevant.
The publication US 2005/0102488 A1 discusses a language for programming a firmware register.
In addition, the publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,702 concerns the use of a database which defines each hardware register and assigns the bits to the hardware register.